FuelCell Energy Wins 40 MW Contracts, Stock Price Soars After Halt

Trading in shares of FuelCell Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: FCEL) was halted for about 40 minutes beginning shortly after the noon hour Wednesday pending the announcement of a 20-year power-purchase agreement between the company and the Long Island Power Authority for 39.8 megawatts (MW) fuel cell generation. Shares were trading down about 2% at the time of the halt.

FuelCell Energy said that it would install, operate and maintain three fuel cell power plants: an 18.5 MW plant near the Brookhaven Rail Terminal; a 13.9 MW combined heat and power plant n the town of Brookhaven; and a 7.4 MW project in the town of Yaphank.

Chip Bottone, FuelCell Energy CEO said:

This utility-issued program is well structured to address power generation and resiliency needs on Long Island by locating clean, quiet and affordable power near existing electrical substations that need additional electricity. Fuel cells are one of the most space-efficient clean energy technologies qualified under the New York State Clean Energy Standard, and these projects demonstrate the many benefits of integrating clean and predictable fuel cells into New York’s energy mix.

The local municipality of Brookhaven will benefit from incremental revenue as three vacant commercial parcels of land are converted to revenue-producing sites.

Next steps in project development include working with the utility on the interconnection agreements, power purchase agreements and finalizing site engineering.

Shares traded up more than 16% after trading resumed at 1:50 p.m., at $1.72 in a 52-week range of $0.80 to $5.67. The consensus 12-month price target on the stock is $1.88.